A story about Michel Foucault
I read Discipline and Punish about 8 or 9 years ago, after hearing about Michel Foucault in a class I took in university. The class was called “Orwell and Orwellianisms…”, and it, of course, focused on the writings and ideas of George Orwell, one of my heroes.
Where Foucault and Orwell cross is in their examinations of the social concepts of punishment, surveillance, discipline, and crime. Foucault believed that the spectacle of punishment, the fear of being tortured and ripped apart, was not an adequate way to instill discipline in a people and to maintain social control. That’s exactly what Orwell’s 1984 argued, as well. It is only when people internalize an idea that they actually modify their own behavior. The torture must be internalized in order for criminal behavior to be modified, but even then, the motivation can’t be from just fear alone.
Somewhere down the line, Foucault continues, people were place in charge of the decision to keep or free an inmate. Psychologists, Wardens, Parole Officers, Judges, Correctional Officers, Parole Boards, Probation Officers, and other professionals were put in charge of the punished. They make a decision as to whether or not it is in their professional opinion that a criminal has been disciplined and punished enough.
And so, we have 10 to 15, 25 to life, possibility of parole, gun specs, no possibility of parole, good time, bad time, educational credits, and the concept of “rehabilitation”.
